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Pennsylvania lottery winners now subject to state tax on prizesNews Story
By Todd Northrop The small number of states that don't tax lottery prizes has just shrunk by one state. Pennsylvania lawmakers approved levying new taxes Wednesday on a variety of different things including lottery prizes to help support the $31.5 billion state budget that went into effect earlier this week. The tax bill was approved by a 116-75 vote in the House and 28-22 vote in the Senate. Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf quickly signed the tax bill and related bills to complete the budget pro
Jul 20, 2016, 10:43 am - Lottery News

WV Lottery officials keeping eye on PA internet gambling billNews Story
West Virginia Lottery officials are closely monitoring legislation making its way through the Pennsylvania General Assembly that would significantly expand legalized gambling in that state. Those guys are aggressive, I'll just say that, acting lottery director John Myers said Tuesday of the legislation, which would make Pennsylvania the fourth state to legalize internet gambling, would allow state casinos to operate satellite locations with up to 250 slot machines each and would allow slot m
Jul 12, 2016, 11:06 pm - Lottery News

Mass. Lottery may offer online gamesNews Story
In response to declining sales among digitally savvy young adults, the Massachusetts State Lottery is calling on lawmakers to open a new gambling frontier lottery games offered around the clock on mobile devices and computers. The only way to reach the younger market is via online lottery games, said state Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who oversees the Lottery Commission. It's the future and we need to face it. Goldberg said the state lottery has studied online games and is now seeking legisla
Jul 12, 2016, 9:33 am - Lottery News

Longtime Kentucky Lottery director dies following fallNews Story
Arthur L. Arch Gleason, the longtime head of the Kentucky Lottery Corp. died on Friday following a fall in Cincinnati. Gleason, who was 69, had just announced his retirement three weeks ago after nearly 23 years as president of the Kentucky Lottery. He was the longest-serving lottery head in the nation. I think that's what bothers us most, said Chip Polston, the lottery spokesman. He was finally at the point to enjoy the later years of his life and then this happens. Former Gov. Brere
Jul 5, 2016, 8:24 am - Lottery News

Illinois Gov. signs bill ensuring lottery prize paymentsNews Story
By Todd Northrop Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner Thursday night signed a bill giving the Illinois Lottery legal authority to continue all prize payouts if a budget deal is not reached. By passing SB 2047, Governor Rauner and the General Assembly are ensuring that the Illinois Lottery can continue its mission of supporting K-12 education, capital projects and select charitable causes throughout Illinois, said Acting Director Tim McDevitt. On December 7, 2015, Governor Rauner signed SB 20
Jul 1, 2016, 11:55 am - Lottery News

Illinois Lottery winners again might not get paidNews Story
People who've waited more than a year for Illinois leaders to finish a state budget might start to feel like the prospects of a compromise are similar to the odds of winning the lottery. Now, Illinois Lottery winners might again face the prospects of not being paid their jackpots in a timely manner if no spending deal is struck by the end of the month. Last year, lottery winners sued the state to get their payouts and eventually did after Gov. Bruce Rauner and lawmakers agreed on a patchwo
Jun 17, 2016, 12:03 pm - Lottery News

State lawmaker calls for Illinois Lottery probe in light of audit findingsNews Story
Lottery head resigns, another possible winner payout shutdown looms A state lawmaker is calling for an investigation of the Illinois Lottery after a recent audit revealed it had violated the state finance law. The audit found that the Lottery circumvented the state's budget impasse by prepaying $20 million to take part in future multi-state lottery games, such as Powerball and Mega Millions. State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, said he wants either Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Mad
Jun 12, 2016, 8:45 am - Lottery News

After Senate setback, Mass. Lottery chief again emphasizes online presenceNews Story
The Massachusetts Lottery did not secure Senate approval last week to begin the process of making its products available online, and time is running short for the Legislature to grant that authorization, the still-hopeful head of the Lottery said Tuesday. Senator Jennifer Flanagan, Democrat of Leominster, filed a budget amendment that would have given the Lottery the approval it needed to move forward with its exploration of online opportunities, but Flanagan withdrew her amendment during the
Jun 1, 2016, 10:54 am - Lottery News

Massachusetts Senate weighing plan to give Lottery 'broad mandate' for online gamesNews Story
If the Massachusetts State Lottery is to continue to thrive and return hundreds of millions of dollars to cities and towns, it must have the ability to move online in some fashion, its executive director said, but it first needs permission from the Legislature to test the World Wide Web's waters. It's critical to the Lottery's future ability to produce revenue that we're allowed to engage clearly changing technology and, to me, what is a very strong change in the commerce pattern that consum
May 25, 2016, 12:25 pm - Lottery News

Audit: Illinois Lottery broke law to get around budget impasseNews Story
Eleven months ago, just as the state budget impasse was about to take hold, the Illinois Lottery violated state finance law by prepaying $20 million to take part in future multi-state lottery games, according to an Auditor General's report. Lottery officials made the prepayment because they were worried that a budget stalemate could prevent the state from participating in the Multi-State Lottery Association's future Powerball and Mega Millions games, according to the audit. The state's Lot
May 21, 2016, 5:14 pm - Lottery News